Residents in the hamlet of Durley have renewed calls for a speed limit through their community after a car left the road and ploughed into a front garden.
Eye-witnesses say the accident could have been much worse if the driver of the vehicle had collided with parked cars, rather than a wooden picket fence.
The female driver and her backseat passenger – a young child – were shaken but unharmed.
The accident happened at around 9.10am this morning. It is believed the driver of the blue Ford Fiesta – who had driven down the steep hill into the built-up area – was overtaking a parked cars when a vehicle came around the corner towards her.
Swerving to avoid a collision, she left the road, mounting a verge and demolishing a fence.
One resident of the hamlet – which is on Savernake Road between Burbage and Great Bedwyn – said: “Speed must have been a contributing factor. Had both vehicles been travelling more slowly an accident could have been avoided.”
Residents have been campaigning for years for a reduced speed limit through Durley. Their cause has been taken up with Burbage Parish Council, which has lobbied Wiltshire Council over the need for a reduced speed limit.
It is the second accident at the spot in 12 months. And following a serious collision near the hamlet five years ago, signs were erected to warn drivers to take care in icy conditions, although no speed limit was applied.
The road through the hamlet is currently unrestricted at 60mph. Residents say road-users built up speed on a straight stretch of road that passes Tottenham House, the ancestral seat of Lord Cardigan, and often fail to slow to an appropriate speed on the blind bend into the village.
While quiet at most times of day, the road serves the popular Avenue Day Nursery and St Katharine’s School, and is also a well-used route with commuters heading for Great Bedwyn railway station and the A4.
Residents have complained that there are no signs informing drivers they are entering a residential area.
Wiltshire Council conducted a survey of speed and traffic through the hamlet in October. The final decision – expected in the Spring – will rest with Wiltshire Council’s Local Area Transport Group.